Internal-combustion engine.



\ DE WITT E. TALLMADGE.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLICATION nrwwov. 1915,

2 SHEETS-SHEET I WITNESS k v I lA/VE/VTOH A, I /6-c%dcf 5.f

A TTOH/VEY Patented July 18, i 1916,

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DE WITT E. TALL- uADoE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at South Norwalk, county of Fairfield,

State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvement inInternal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to internal combustlon engines and consists incertain constructions, and in certain parts, improvements andcombinations that will be hereinafter described and then specificallypointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a longitudinal'section of my novel engine with certain ofthe parts in elevation; Fig. 2 an elevation as seen from the rightinFig. 1, with the face plate of'the casing removed; Fig. 2 a detailsectional view on the line indicated by ,2 in Fig. 2; Fig. 2" a' detailsectional view on the line indicated by 2 in Fig. 2, the parts howeverbeing in a position corresponding with Fig. 4; Fig. 3 a transversesection on the line 3-3 in Fig. 1, showing a position of the primary andsecondary pistonsduring an intake, and Fig. 4 is a section on the sameline, showing a position of the primary and secondary pistons at theinstant of an explosion. The position of the parts corresponds in Figs.1, 2-, -2 and 3.

10 denotes the casing which is shown as made in three parts, 11 theshaft, which is journaled in the ends of the casing, 12 a flywheelcarried by the shaft, and 13 the piston chamber which is circular.Within this chamber are three radial equ'i-distant primary pistons,indicated by 14, each of which carries at each end a rearwardlyextending end 'wall 15, the edge of which fits the outer wall of thepiston chamber closely. These end wallsmay taper outward, as shown inFig. 1. The primary pistons are carriedby segments of a hub indicated asa whole by 17 These hub segments are secured to the shaft by taperingkeys 18, the ends of which extend into a circular recess 19 in a hub 20rigidly secured to the shaft. Within the recess is a disk 21 which isforced against the ends of the keys by a relatively strong spring 22having its other bearing on the base of the recess. The action ofthespring pressed disk is to force the keys forward and raiseSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented J lily 18, 1916.

Application filed November 6, 1915. Serial No. 60,117.

the hub segments so that the edges of the pistons and the end walls willbe held closely in engagement with the wall of the p1ston chamberandmake tight joints.

23 denotes the intake for the explosive mixture, 24; the spark plug and25 and 26 exhaust openings in the piston chamber.

. 27 denotes secondary pistons which. lie within the end walls 15 ofthe. primary pistons. These secondary pistons are concave upon theirinner edges to engage the hub formed by the three hub segments andconvex upon their outer edges to engage the wall of the piston chamber.The secondary as well as the primary pistons are forced outward intoclose engagement with-the wall of the. piston chamber by the taperingkeys. It will be noted that the primary pistons and their end walls, inconnection with the secondary piston, form, within. the piston chamber,three independent chambers which I will term combustion chambers. Thecombustion chambers are not indicated by reference numerals, however, astheir area an position is constantly changing.

30 denotes a ring-shaped chamber in the casing, 'having an opening 31entirely around it. Centrally located in this cham ber is a ring 32carried by aspider 33, itself rigidly secured to the shaft.

34. denotes hubs mounted upon and adapted to move spirally thereon, aswill be more fully explained. Each hub is provided with acircumferential groove 35 to receive a circular bearing 36 in which thehub rotates. Each bearing is carried by an arm 37 the other end of whichis rigidly-secured to one of the secondary pistons.

38 denotes a spiral groove in the wall of the ring-shaped chamber, saidgroove being interrupted by opening 31.

39 denotes a spiral groove in theperiphery of ring 32, which isinterrupted at the points of attachment of the ring to the arms of thespider.

40 denotes double-ended pins, two. of which are socketed in each hub, onopposite sides thereof, and which are adapted to engage both the groovein the wall of the chamber and the groove in the ring to 1mpart forwardmovement t of the primary pistons to the hub and the correspondingsecondary piston at a. speed in the ring" '85 and shaft. Each pin isprovided with a shoulder, and a spring 41, hearing against the shoulderand the base of the socket in which the pin is seated, acts to force thepin outward, that is toward the wall of the chamber. Each pin is alsoprovided with a stop pin 42 engaging a slot 43 in the hub, which actsto. limit the outward movement of the pin when it passes into opening 31in the wall of the chamber. At approximately opposite points in the wallof .the ringshaped chamber, spiral groove ,38 is provided-with deepenedportions 44, both terminating in inclines 47 and one of which must beprovided with a rear shoulder/45 (see Fig. 2 When a pin is forced intoone of these deepened portions, or into opening 31, by its spring, itpasses entirely out of engagement with groove 39 in the ring, as clearlyshown in Figs. 2 and 2*. There are two conditions that must bedistinguished from each other,when a hub is moving, and when itsmovement is to be stopped. As has been stated, each time a pin passesopening 31, it must pass out of engagement with the groove in the ring.Under the first condition this is an idle movement and noIresultfollows, as each hub carries two pins, one of which remains inengagement with the grooves in the chamber wall and the ring. When,however, a secondary piston reaches the position shown at the right inFig. 4, and the corresponding hub is in the position shown in Fig. 2",one of the pins in said hub will pass intothe recess 44, shown in Fig. 2and will lie in engagement with shoulder 45, andthe other pin insaid'hub will pass into opening 31 which leaves the hub disconnectedfrom the ring, itself carried by the shaft. This stops the movement ofthe hub and leaves the secondary piston stationary in the positionshownat the right in Fig. 4, as will be more fully ex 'izained. Means must beprovided for disengaging the pins from ,these deepened portions,starting the hubs forward and engaging the pins again with groove 39.This is efi'ected by the engagement of the primary pistons with arms 37.carried by the secondary pistons. In order to insure a yieldingengagement of the primary pistons with the arms, I provide bumpers 46upon the primary pistons, which take up the shocks of the blows, andstart the secondary pistons forward. These bumpers may be shells closedat their outer ends, the inner ends of the shells, and the springs bywhich they are forced outward, being socketed in the primary pistons.

The operationis as follows: Whenever a engagement with the grooves inthe wall of the chamber and the ring, the hub and the secondary pistonconnected therewith by an arm 37 will be carried forward at anaccelerated speed, that is at greater speed than that of the primarypistons. This causes compression of the mixture in a con1- bustionchamber. Compression continues in the combustion chamber that has justtaken mixture .until the parts reach the position shown in Fig. 4. Atthis instant, one of the pins 40 in the corresponding hub 34 will dropinto one of the depressed portions 44 of groove 38 (see Fig. 2 and theother pin in the same hub will pass out of the groove owing to itsinterruption by opening 31. This will stop the forward movement of thehub and consequently of the secondary piston to which the hub isconnected. The combustion chamber in which compression has taken placewill now be at the spark plug and the explosion takes place, theengagement of pin 40 with shoulder 45 (see Fig. 2") preventing backwardmovement of the secondary piston. The eflect is to drive the primarypistons and the shaft forward. The secondary piston that has beenstopped by the engagement'of a pin with a shoulder 45 remains stationaryuntil it is started forward by the engagement of the bumper on thefollowing primary piston with the arm 37 of the stationary secondarypiston. After -the explosion, the combustion chamber is expanded by theforward movement of the primary piston and is then contracted again bythe forward movement of the following secondary piston which is startedby the following primary piston. The primary piston forces the secondarypiston forward with it until the pins in the corresponding hub againengage the grooves in the wall of the ring-shaped chamber and the ring.As soon as this engagementtakes place, the accelerated movement of thesecondary piston commences, the efiect of which is to partiallyexhaustthe products of combustion through exhaust opening 25, the exhaust beingcompleted at exhaust opening 26.- An instant after, passing opening 26,the combustion chamber approaching the intake is at its greatestcontraction, corresponding in area with the combustion chamber at theright in Fig. 4. In this position,.the pins in the correspondinghub 34will -.-drop respec-' tively into a. depressed portion 44 of the groove38 and into opening '31, andwill stop the forward movement of the. hub"and the secondary piston. An instant later, the primary-piston haspassed the intake and explosive mixture will pass into the combustionchamber. The secondary piston is then moved forward by the, followingprimary piston and an instant later its accelerated movement, caused byrengagement of the pins with the grooves, commences and compressiontakes place in the chamber that has just taken explosive mixture. Theseoperations are continuously repeated in use.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:-

1. An internal combustion engine comprising a shaft, a non-rotatingpiston chamber, primary pistons secured to the shaft and havingrearwardly extending end walls, secondary pistons mounted on the shaftindependently of the primary pistons and forming with said pistons andend walls combustion chambers, and means for imparting acceleratedmovement to the secondary pistons to produce compression and exhaustionin the combustion chamber.

2. An internal combustion engine comprisinga shaft. :1 piston chamber,primary pistons secured to the shaft and having rearwardly extending endwalls, secondary pistons mounted on the shaft independently of theprimary pistons, and forming with said pistons and endwalls combustioncham-.

bers, a spirally grooved ring-shaped chamber having an opening aroundit, a spirally grooved ring centrally located in said, chamber andcarried by the shaft, hubs mounted upon the ring and having springcontrolled pins adapted to engage the grooves in the chamber and thering and having circum ferential grooves, bearings in thecircumferential grooves in which the hubs rotate, and armsconnectingsaid bearings with the secondary pistons. a

3'. An internal combustion engine comprising a shaft, a piston chamber,primary pistons secured to the shaft and having rearwardly extending endwalls and hub segments, together forming a hub, secondary pistonsmounted, to have rotary movement on said hub and forming with theprimary pistons and end walls combustion chambers, and means forimparting accelerated movement to the secondary pistons, for the purposeset forth.

4. An internal combustion engine comprising a shaft, a piston chamber,primary pistons having rearwardly extending end walls and hub segments,together forming a. hub, secondary pistons mounted to have rotarymovement on said hub, and forming with the primary/pistons and end wallscombustion chambers, spring pressed tapering keys for securing the hubsegments to the shaft and for forcing the primary and secondary pistonsoutward against the wall.

of the chamber, and means for imparting accelerated movement to thesecondary pistons, for the purpose set forth.

5. An internal combustion engine comprising a shaft, a piston chamber,primary pistons having rearwardly extending end walls and hub segments,together forming a hub, secondary pistons mounted to have rotarymovement on said hub,

and forming with the primary pistons and end walls combustion chambers,ta-

pering keys engaging the hub segments and the shaft, a spring presseddisk engaging the keys, for the purpose set forth, a hub 20 secured tothe shaft in which the disk and spring are socketed, and means forimparting accelerated movement to the secondary piston.-

6. In an internal combustion engine, a

'shaft, primary 'pistons secured thereto, secistons whereb acceleratedmovement is-' imparted to said secondary pistons.

7. In an internal combustion engine, a shaft, primary pistons securedthereto, secondary pistons mounted on the shaft independently of theprimary pistons, a ringshaped chamber having a spiral groove providedwith deepened portions and having a circular opening, a spirally groovedring in said chamber carried by the shaft, hubs mounted upon the ring,spring controlled pins in the hubs adapted to engage the grooves in thechamber and the ring,

hearings in which the hubs rotate and arms connecting the bearingsto thesecondary pistons, the engagement of the pins with the groovescausingaccelerated movement of the hubs and secondary pistons, andpassing of the pinsin a hub into one of the depressions and the circularopening respectively, disengaging the pins from the ring and stoppingthe movement of the hubs and the secondary pistons.

8. In an internal combustion engine, a shaft, primary pistons securedthereto, secondary pistons mounted on the shaft independently of theprimary pistons, a ringshaped chamber having. a circularopening and aspiral groove provided with deepened portions, one of which has a rearshoulder, Y for the purpose set forth, a spirally grooved ring ;in saidchamber carried by the shaft, hubs mounted upon the ring, springcontrolled pins in the hub adapted to engage the grooves in the chamberand. the ring, bearings in which the hubs rotate, and arms connectingthe hearings to the secondary pistons.

LQLIII an internal combustion engine, a shaft, primary pistons securedthereto. secondary pistons mounted on the shaft independently of theprimary pistons, a ringshaped chamber having a spiral groove, providedwith deepened portions terminating in inclines and having a circularopening, a

ping the movement of the hubs and the secondary pistons, and means forcausing reengagement of the pins with the grooves.

10. In an internalcombustion engine, a

'- shaft, primary pistons secured thereto and provided with bumpers,secondary pistons mounted on the shaft independently of the primarypistons, a ring-shaped chamber having a spiral groove provided withdeepened' portions terminating in inclines and having a circularopening, a spirally grooved ring in said chamber carried by the shaft,hubs mounted upon the ring, spring controlled pins in the hubs adaptedto engage the grooves in the chamber and the ring,

.bearings in which the hubs rotate, and arms connecting the bearings tothe secondary pistons, passing of the pins into a depression and thecircular opening respectively, stopping the movement of the hubs and thesecondary pistons and engagement of the bumpers with the arms startingthe secondary pistons and hubs forward and causing recngagement of thepins with the grooves.

11. In an internal combustion engine, a shaft, primary pistons securedthereto, secondary pistons mounted on the shaft inde .pendently of theprimary pistons, a ringshaped chamber having a spiral groove providedwith deepened portions and having a circular opening, a spirallygroovedring in said chamber carried by the shaft, hubs mounted upon thering, spring controlled pins in the hubs adapted to engage said grooves,hearings in which the hubs rotate and arms connecting the bearings tothe secondary pistons, passing of the pins into a depression and thecircular opening stopping movement of the hubs and the secondarypistons, and engagement of the primary pistons with the arms startingthe secondary pistons forward and causing reengagement of the ins withthe grooves.

12. n an internal combustion engine, a shaft, primary pistons securedthereto, secondary pistons mounted on the shaft independently of theprimary pistons, a ringshaped chamber having a spiral groove providedwith deepened portions and having a circular opening, a spirally groovedring in said chamber, a spider secured to the shaft and having armspassing through the opening by which the ring is carried, hubs mountedupon the ring, spring controlled pins in the hubs adapted to engage saidgrooves, bearings in which the hubs rotate,

menace and arms also passing through the opening which connect the hubsto the secondary pistons.

13. In an internal combustion engine, a shaft, primary pistons securedthereto, secondary pistons mounted on the shaft independently of theprimary pistons, a ringshaped chamber having a spiral groove providedwith deepened portions and having a circular opening, a spirally groovedring in said chamber carried by the shaft, hubs mounted upon the ring,shouldered pins sockcted in the hubs and adapted to engage said grooves,springs acting to force said pins outward, stop pins which limit theout- -ward movement of the pins, bearings in which the hubs rotate andarms connecting the bearings with the secondary pistons.

14. In an-internal combustion engine, a piston chamber having an intake,a spark plug and exhaust openings, a shaft, primary pistons carriedthereby and having rearwardly extending end walls, secondary pistonsmounted on the shaft independently of the primary pistons and formingwith said pistons and end walls combustion chambers, and means operatedby the shaft for accelerating the movement of the secondary pistons toproduce compression in the combustion chambers before an explosion andexhaustion in said chambers after an explosion.

15. In an internal combustion engine, a piston chamber having an intake,a spark plug and exhaust openings, a shaft, primary pistons carriedthereby and having rearwardly extending end walls, secondary pistonsmounted on the shaft independently of the primary pistons and formingwith said pistons and end walls combustion chambers, a spirally groovedring-shaped chamber having a circular opening, a spirally grooved ringin said chamber carried by the shaft, hubs mounted upon the ring andhaving spring controlled pins adapted to engage said grooves, bearingsin which the hubs rotate, and arms connecting said I) ngs to thesecondary pistons.

16. In an internal combustion engine a piston chamber having an intake,a spark plug and exhaust openings, a shaft, primary pistons carriedthereby and having rear wardly extending end walls, secondary pistonsmounted on the shaft independently of the primary pistons andv formingwith said pistons and end walls combustion chambers, a ring-shapedchamber having a spiral groove provided with depressions and having acircular opening, a spirally grooved ring in said chamber carried by theshaft, hubs mounted upon the ring, spring controlled pins in the hubsadapted to engage said grooves, bearings in which the hubs rotate, andarms connecting said bearings to the secondary pistons.

17. In an internal combustion engine, a

piston chamber having an intake, a spark plug and exhaust openings, ashaft, primary pistons carried thereby and having rearwardly extendingend walls, secondary pistons mounted on the shaft independently of theprimary pistons and forming with said pistons and end walls combustionchambers, a spirally grooved ring-shaped chamber having a circularopening,- oppositely located 10 depressions in the groove, one of whichis provided with a shoulder, for the purpose pins adapted to engage saidgrooves, bear- 15 ings inwhich the hubs rotate, and arms connecting saidhearings to the secondary pistons.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

. DE WITT E. TALLMADGE.

